An Unexpected Trip
by HelenaVer
Summary: Helen's team can be very adventurous when it comes to their desires. So whether she wishes or not, but they all set out to the Eurovision contest. And everything would have been rather calm and peaceful, if a certain unbearable flirty vampire hadn't joined them. The trip becomes a severe test for Helen. Will she be able to resist his charms and a beautiful Serbian love song?
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:** _This is my very first attempt at writing at all. I've been keeping the idea about Eurovision and Teslen for a very long time. And without chartreuseian, I'm not sure that I'd ever do it. She made me sit down and write it, and her help was really priceless. I can't thank you enough, chartreuseian, you're an amazing friend and a perfect editor. Thank you! Xoxo!)_

_Well, as for the story, I want you to remember the first part of season 3 and to add to that the Eurovision contest. I really hope that you'll like the story as much as I do. Enjoy!)_

**Chapter 1**

"Oh, come on, Doc…" Henry begged, "just for one day. We'll be back early morning Monday."

"No!" Helen said, denying his request for the nth time this week. "Or have you forgotten what happened to the jet during your last trip to Berlin for a rock concert?! It took Biggie a whole week to wash it off."

Kate exchanged glances with Henry and both simultaneously turned and looked at Will with sorrowful eyes, but he just shook his head. It was clear he didn't want any part of this. Seeing that, Kate narrowed her eyes and shot a glance at Magnus. Will, then understanding that resistance was useless, sighed deeply, but nodded and said, "But Magnus, give them two days, I promise I'll keep an eye on the jet and on them too".

"What do you need in Baku at such a late hour?" Helen asked with a sigh finally looking up at her team.

"Well…" Henry started.

"Because of…" Will continued.

"Eurovision!" Helen concluded.

"How…?" Henry's eyes widened in astonishment**.**

"Doesn't matter!" Kate interrupted him, and a hint of a smile appeared at the corner of Helen's mouth, but the young woman went on, "Well, yeah! It's a wonderful opportunity and we want to watch the grand final on Saturday night. And we'll be here in a wink and ready for a work, you'll barely have a time to become bored".

"And tickets, do you have them?" Helen asked.

Henry looked like a lost puppy, with such a perplexed look, Will had a coughing fit but Kate took a deep breath and blurted out, "We took yours!"

"Nice," Helen smiled, "and how did you know that I had them?" she asked. "Nikola!" she suddenly cried, turning to where her old friend was standing by the door. The vampire was leaning against the doorpost, fiddling with the glass of wine in his hands. When he heard his name, he lifted up his eyes to Helen with an innocent smile.

"Then, you three," Helen pointed at Will, Henry and Kate, who were standing in front of her desk, "can go and you, Nikola, get over here right now!"

"So we can go then?" Kate asked. Helen cocked her head to one side and gave her a look. It was one they all knew well and the three of them disappeared in a split second.

"I'm listening, Nikola…"

"I think you should thank me," he started smugly. "I've given you a chance to get rid of the fidgety children for a whole day, evening and night."

"Most likely, you did it not for me, but for yourself," she retorted.

"You've always been shrewd," he said with a smile.

"So…"

He put the glass on the desk and bent forward to Helen so close that she could feel his soft and warm breath, mixed with aroma of wine on her face. "Just imagine," he whispered, "you, me and some bottles of wine…mmm, and there won't be any annoying children."

"And therefore you've taken my tickets," Helen stood up, shook off his magnetism and left her desk.

"Consider it to be a little contribution to a noble cause," he said, but seeing that she remained adamant he added, "Oh, come on, Helen!"

"H'm, I've already heard that somewhere…" she rapped at her chin with her index finger, "of course, from the 'annoying children'."

"So you refuse to spend an evening with me one on one?" he asked.

"Precisely!" Helen smiled.

"Fine!" Nikola muttered and made his way towards the door, but before he could close it behind him, he popped his head round the door and said in a loud voice, "Fraidy cat!"

And with that he vanished from sight.

He knew that he would have provoked her and now she would spend all evening and night with him. The thought made his smile even wider and he headed for the cellar with a spring in his step. He needed to choose the perfect wine, and he already knew which one.

Meanwhile, Helen Magnus sat down at the desk and tried to come back to her work. A few futile attempts later she stared at the glass, left on her desk. She slid a finger down its long stem and said to herself, "They say in Russia if you want to know what your companion thinks of, drink from his glass."

"So, Nikola, what's on your mind?" she mused, looking at deep red liquid. She held the glass a little in her hand and put it back on the desk with irritation, "He called me 'fraidy cat', me…! Well Nikola Tesla, if you want to play, we'll do it, but according to my rules!" A few minutes later she was in Henry's office.

"I've found work for you," she said, and her team turned to her.

"Oh, no Doc, not today," Kate whimpered.

"What do we have to do?" Will asked.

"Pack your things, we're leaving in 30 minutes," Helen replied.

"But where are we going, Doc?" Henry asked.

"Have you forgotten that you were literally kneeling before me and begging to let you go to Baku, or have you already changed your mind?" Helen replied.

"Doc, you're super!" Kate yelled before she and Henry all but bolted from the room. Helen could barely contain her laughter at the pair.

"Yeah, thank you, Magnus!" Will added as he followed them.

Helen followed them with her eyes and gently began to laugh. Nikola might have been right calling them 'children'… But it was time to visit her hapless blackmailer so Helen made her way towards the library; Nikola was sitting in one of the leather chairs with his back to the door as he sipped red wine. He already knew that she had accepted his challenge, and not because he heard Kate and Henry discussing the forthcoming journey, he just knew that she couldn't resist the temptation and the sense of anticipation made his blood run faster, filling his chest with agitation.

Helen stood in the doorway and involuntary regarded with admiration his long delicate fingers holding the glass of wine. "Wine, again," she considered, "if he continues to drink so much he'll become an alcoholic and I'll be compelled to become a wine manufacture."

"Come in, Helen! It's rude to lurk in doorways," he said without looking up.

"Damn it, his vampiric hearing!" Helen thought, but made a few steps into the room.

"So you've permitted your little team to go to the concert, have you?" he asked softly and stood up from the armchair. He held his breath for an instant, just to calm his heart.

Helen nodded with an enigmatic smile.

He came close to her and whispered, "O, Helen, this will be unforgettable evening, trust me!"

"I'm sure of that," she replied in a low voice.

"And when are they leaving?" he asked hoarsely. He was standing in front of her impossibly close, but didn't let himself touch her. She could feel each touch of his jacket against her body, the heat of his breath, and her world narrowed until it was just the two of them, her heart beat faster when she saw his eyes darkening straight away. She practically forgot why she was there. It seemed to her that she wanted to tell him something, but what?

"In 10 minutes," Helen didn't even notice that she'd shut her eyes slightly.

"Wonderful!" he bent to her, stopped a few millimeters from her neck and inhaled the smell of her soft perfume. The intoxicating sweetness of her presence drove him crazy, and he was about to kiss her, she was more than sure of it and what was worse was that she wanted him to do it, when suddenly Biggie came into the library…

Nikola even growled at the interruption, and it gave Helen an opportunity to control herself. She took a quick step back from him and turned to her yeti with a polite smile. "Yes?" she asked.

"Magnus, your luggage is ready and I've left it in the hall," his low voice rumbled.

"Excellent! Thank you Biggie, I'm coming." She looked at Nikola, his expression was priceless. She saw his eyes widened for an instant and then realization flitted across his face. And then, for some reason, a mischievous grin appeared on his face.

"Good one, ljubav!" he whispered in her ear as he left the library. Helen heaved a sigh of relief, she wasn't sure what was between them right now, either she was losing her grip on her emotions surrounding Nikola, or … But she didn't want to think about that 'or'.

Thirty minutes later, Helen and her team were sitting at their places: Kate and Henry were discussing contestants and Will from time to time interfered in their chat but only because Kate elbowed him. Helen relaxed and closed her eyes. She heard someone take the seat beside hers and thought that it was Will, escaping from Kate.

"Don't pretend to be asleep, I can hear your heart!" someone said and Helen opened her eyes instantly.

"Nikola, what are you doing here? I thought you'd have barricaded yourself in my wine cellar by now."

"The thought had crossed my mind, but I love you more than wine," he smiled.

"But the ticket…?" she started, "of course, you've left one for yourself in advance."

"Genius, remember?" His eyes were shining with content. "Moreover, didn't you think I'd get my revenge?" he asked with a saucy look.

Helen felt her heart jump and she couldn't help but smile in reply.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

"Doc, how did you get tickets to Eurovision?" Henry asked, sitting down next to them.

"Well, it's a long story," she said, smiling softly.

"Tell us, Magnus… please," Will and Kate joined.

"There you go!" Nikola muttered darkly. "Children never let us have a minute's peace." Three pairs of eyes glared at him while Helen only laughed.

"Oh, tell them after all or they will never leave us alone," Nikola said, turning to Helen.

"And do you know it?" Kate asked him.

Nikola opened his mouth and was about to answer but Helen beat him to it.

"No, he doesn't! Nikola hid himself from the entire world and I didn't have an opportunity to tell him this story."

"How did you manage to forget about me?" he replied sarcastically. "You know how badly I love stories about you, my dear."

Helen just rolled her eyes.

"In short, it happened during the very first contest of Eurovision in Lugano in 1956," she said to begin her story. "Then it was the most overwhelming event, crowds of spectators and viewers in front of TV were looking forward to the opening of the concert. But before the beginning, strange things started to happen. Anyone who went on stage for more than three minutes died, all the others were so exhausted that couldn't even move. By the way," she digressed, "since that the duration of songs should be three minutes or less. Of course nobody knew what was happening, and the coordinators asked me for help. As it turned out, there was an abnormal, who had settled under the stage, and who was feeding on the human vital force. Its ability was so powerful that worked even at a distance, I succeeded in testing that when it grabbed me with its sharp-clawed paws, I just collapsed. But mercifully I managed to shoot at the creature with a tranquilizer first."

Helen went on with her story, as that night flashed out instantly in Nikola's mind. It was one of those moments when the desire to see her was almost unbearable, he knew that Helen would be in Switzerland and so he'd gone. He didn't want to expose himself, especially not to Helen or it would have ended with a bitter quarrel, and Helen-in-rage was the last thing he wanted after such a long time apart.

But when the creature attacked her and started sucking her vital force, he couldn't stand aside. If he hadn't been there … Even now the thought made his heart sink… He rushed to the monster, but even his vampire strength couldn't withstand the ability of this creature. He grabbed an electric cable and tore it down, releasing a powerful electric discharge, it gave him a second to grasp the gun with tranquilizers and put the being to sleep.

He approached Helen and touched her cheek; she was so pale and motionless, and to his horror she wasn't breathing. Almost fifty years later the thought that he could have lost her still made his hands shake.

He had needed to start up her heart, and all he had was his electric power. He put one hand on her chest and sent a small electric blow, then again, again… it was almost eternity until he felt heart start beating again. It seemed to him that he started to breathe only when she did. The relief washed over him, and for a moment he just sat, holding her in his arms. And for this gift he could have thanked that paltry rat Edison.

"Everything will be all right, ljubav," he whispered finally, touching her temple with his lips. He was just about to pick her up and to bring away from this creature as he heard voices of her team. He had nothing for it but to put the gun into Helen's hand and to disappear.

"It turned out well, though to be honest I blacked out and spent was in the infirmary for an entire week," Helen finished. "But since then the sponsors of Eurovision send me the tickets to all their contests every year!" Helen ended her story and Nikola, waking from a stupor, said, "Helen, you're not good at telling stories, look at poor Heinrich, he was tormented by boredom."

"It is not true," Henry protested, "it was cool, Doc, you did well!" he turned to Helen.

"And now have a rest, we'll have been flying for 9 hours, but the day will be rather eventful," she smiled and patted him on his arm.

"Yeah, we have to be peppy at the concert and Henry, you promised to dance all night, didn't you?" Kate added.

"Maybe not," Helen told them, "I've arranged for us to take some abnormals, including red listers from one of my contacts while we're here." At that, everyone moaned. Even when all her team took their places, they were still muttering swearwords under their breath. Finally the talk stopped, leaving Helen and Nikola in private.

"Well, Helen, you know how to encourage your staff," Nikola smiled.

"They must deserve the tickets you've given to them!" she replied nonchalantly.

Nikola laughed out loud, "Who could doubt!"

"Hush!" Helen whispered.

"Here we're alone at last!" he said intimately. "Do you have any suggestion of how to spend next 9 hours?"

"Here we go again," Helen muttered with a sigh. "Of course," she bent to Nikola and seductively whispered, "I'm going to…"

"Yes?"

"To sleep eight of them at least," she finished with a wide grin.

"Well, I'm sure we can go for an hour if you're really that tired," he bit back only to receive an indignant look. Nikola burst out laughing. "Fine, have a short nap! I'm going to read for a while."

"10 ways to pester people?" Helen joked, without opening her eyes.

"Ha-ha, no, it's '_Memoirs of a Scandalous Red Dress', _by a certain Elizabeth Boyle," he replied and opened the book.

Helen jumped in her seat, "Where did you get that?"

She couldn't believe her eyes, it was her book, her, and she knew that it couldn't be found accidentally because she hid it very carefully in her own bedroom.

"H'm, it seems to me I found it in your bedroom," Nikola mused.

Helen gasped for breath and practically shouted at him, "Nikola!"

"Hush! You'll wake up kids! Besides, what's wrong? It's just a book and I liked its cover, it reminded me your 'scandalous dress'," he looked at her innocently, that she really didn't know what to do: to cry, to laugh or simply to kill him. And to tell the truth she inclined to the last variant, when he said, "Let's play a game!"

She frowned, but asked, "What kind of game?"

"Innocuous one, you know me!"

"That's why I ask because I know you too well," she parried.

"The game is 'What's on mind of Dr. Helen Magnus'?" he winked at her. "The rules are simple, you tell me a number of a page and a line from the top or from the bottom of that page, and we'll know what thoughts you hide."

"Nikola, it's silly!"

"Oh, come on Helen, just once," he gave her a pleading glance.

She hesitated a little, but finally said, "Ok, just once! And provided that we'll read about your thoughts too." Nikola shrugged his shoulders, "Why not? So ladies first!"

Helen signed, "Page number 86, line 4 from the bottom." Nikola quickly found the right page and looked through the sentence, "Helen, I'm shocked, I always knew that you're a bad girl, but this…"

"Nikola, don't be a child and read it!" She couldn't contain herself any longer.

"_**Perhaps it wasn't just his touch, but him, standing so close that all she wanted to do was throw herself into the heat of his embrace and never leave**_**,"__******* He finished and giving her with naughty smile.

His deep voice put accents on the most ardent words of the phrase and this passionate mix sent shivers down her spine, that for a moment or two, she held her breath unconsciously, "It's silly!" she cleared her throat, "your turn!"

"Well, my page is 135, line 12 from the top," he opened the page and started to read aloud, _**"You are the most beautiful creature who ever lived," he said in a low voice. "And you are mine."**__*****_

Helen prepared to charge this phrase against him in the cruelest way, but his voice cracked on the last word, and turned out into whisper. She didn't expect that from him and was taken aback, they both fell into silence. He looked into her eyes and kept on staring straight at her as if he wanted to hypnotize her to understand something. Something important. It was a real wonder that she was able to cough and say, "It's beautiful, but I'm sure that your thoughts were about a bottle of wine."

He grinned, "Once more?"

"Oh, no!" she protested.

"Or I'll do it instead of you," he threatened.

"As you wish!" Helen retorted.

"It was you who asked for troubles: page 126, line 18 from the top," and he started to read. _**"Her lips swollen from his kiss, her skin atingle, her knees trembling . . . and her heart, her heart beat with desire, a rapid, haphazard staccato that left her breathless."**__*****_

Helen gasped, "You did it on purpose!"

His smile became wider, "It's your book and Helen, if you need my kisses, just ask! I'll be more than happy to satisfy…" but he didn't finish.

"Nikola, don't…!" Helen interrupted him.

"Ok!" he raised both hands in defense. "I'll be reading in silence, I promise!" and he turned the page. Finally the silence fell on Helen and she relaxed a little, though after Nikola's trick with book, it was really hard to do. She closed her eyes and tried to scrub out from her memory his words said with his incredibly sexy voice, and moreover the way she was feeling after. She looked at him in profile through the downcast lashes wondering whether he seriously believed her to be his most beautiful creature, when he muttered aloud, "Helen, I didn't even suppose that you could read such an obscene book!"

And Helen, got angry at herself for unwilling thoughts, at him for being so insufferable, acted childish. She turned off the light above him.

It seemed that he didn't even notice that, still holding the book in his hand and then said, "Helen, I'm a vampire, I can see in pitch darkness!" Helen moaned, and snatched the book from his hands, she hid it behind her back.

"And what do you think I have to do?"

"Sleep!" she replied angrily.

"But that's not so fun," he teased her.

Helen laid down in her sleeper seat, "Nikola, one more word and I'll throw you from the jet!" she threatened him and closed her eyes.

He grinned and, bent to her ear, whispered, "I'll return to you anyway!" then he leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes.

Helen barely suppressed a smile, he was impossible, but said nothing, just the thought flickered into her head, "I hope so!"

* * *

* **Elizabeth Boyle ****'****Memoirs of a Scandalous Red Dress'**

* * *

_I want to thank all you who read my story and left reviews, including anonymous ones (I couldn't have just replied to you personally). Your support really means a lot to me.)))_**  
**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Rays of the morning sun were flooding the cabin, colouring it in all tints of red, orange and gold. A ringing silence which was so natural for such an early time of day filtered through the air, being broken by the low noise of working engines, the sound of the wind and the breathing of sleeping passengers. But Nikola was looking only at her, the woman who stole his heart more than a century ago.

It was a rare moment when he could just sit and look at her without the necessity to pretend, to be sarcastic and to do something totally inadmissible, just to see her reaction. Such pattern of behaviour had become second nature to him, especially when their little circle had grown to five and he could no longer have her to himself.

When her soul demanded scientific conversation, she went to James. For jokes, it was Nigel and compliments John. Which meant that step by step and day by day, he felt farther and farther from her so that each night without sleep sent his wit to sarcasm, something which was far less likely to win her smiles. Eventually her bright blue eyes stopped linger on him as if trying to figure out exactly what was going on with him so that he saw less of her puzzled expressions or the tiny smiles that would crease their corners, leaving him to watch as they flashed with pure anger in his direction. But that was better than indifference, so he'd taken it. Of course, he could play nice, but it meant that she addressed solely out of courtesy and that was something he couldn't bear. So he kept provoking her, even if it resulted in the occasional bullet in his chest.

Helen was peacefully snuffling in her seat, and his heart thrummed with excitement. She was so beautiful, in spite of the disheveled hair and lightly smudged makeup. He felt like he could just sit back like this and admire her sleeping forever but suddenly her eyelashes quivered, shook off the sleep and the first thing Helen saw was cheerful and smiling face of Nikola.

"Good morning, ljubav! Rise and shine!" he sang.

"And to you!" she replied drowsily and tried to smile.

After her, as if on command, Kate, Will and Henry stirred. The plane was filled with talks and yawns. Kate demanded a coffee, Henry immediately buried himself in the laptop, checking all that could be changed during his small break. Helen stretched and caught Nikola's look and asked, "What?"

"You snore!" he replied, smiling even wider.

"I do not!" Helen half jumped out of her seat.

"By the way, Junior snores too," he continued, "was it the main reason why you hired him?"

"I don't snore!" Will protested.

"Like a January bear!" Nikola added. "If there were such competition, the first prize would be yours."

"Nikola, stop teasing Will!" Helen said in defence of her protégé.

"Even Heinrich will agree, won't he?" Nikola said to the other young man.

"Yeah, don't count on it!" Will said.

"Actually, Tesla is right, dude, you snore and kinda loudly," Henry replied timidly.

Helen saw that Will was really confused and elbowed Nikola as a prevention, then said with a commanding tone, "Freshen up yourself, we have an hour till arriving! Nikola, the same applies to you and cease tormenting my team," she turned to him.

"Really?" he asked, "I need to freshen up too?"

She looked at him: immaculate in a perfectly ironed suit, no one would ever believe that he spent the previous night in an airplane seat, "And how he does always manage to look so damn cool?" she thought, but said aloud, "follow my latter instruction. And find something more useful to do than slight poor William."

And with that she headed for the onboard bathroom to make herself presentable.

"Oh, I'm at your service, my dear! Just call if you need a little help."

Helen stopped in front of the door and even opened her mouth to reply, but only sighed, mumbled under her breath, "Evil creature!"

She didn't need to turn at him to see his reaction, she could sense it regardless. The scamp was grinning.

She closed the door behind her and felt a little freer. Nikola's presence always kept her on edge. It was pleasant and exciting and made her fingertips tingle sometimes but more than that, he reminded her that she was alive. Though there was still a tension his presence brought.

Helen took a deep breath and looked towards the mirror. "Bloody hell!" she cried. Her hair was standing on end, going in all directions, mascara smeared under her eyes. And Nikola saw her like this?

"Bloody hell!" she repeated, shocked at herself.

Less than a half an hour the jet landed in one of the airports in Baku.

"So, Will, you're going to this address." Helen gave him a piece of paper. "Henry and you can go together. Kate, you go to the second address, and Nikola and I will take in the cargo from the third place. When you transport it on board, we're going to meet in the hall of the hotel 'Excelsior Hotel Baku', where we should have a reservation. And then, it's time for your concert!"

"Magnus, are you sure you want to go with Tesla?" Will asked in a barely concealed whisper.

Nikola just snorted in response, and Helen said, "If you want, I can send him with you?" A look of horror appeared on Will's face which she could have taken as her answer but instead she continued. "If Nikola goes alone, we'll end up with all kinds of disasters. Now you all know your tasks, so go."

And with that, they dispersed.

"Just admit it, Helen," Nikola said with a sly smile, "you can't bear to be without me."

"Nonsense!" she said, shaking her head. He suddenly grabbed her hand, bringing her wrist to his lips, letting them brush softly against her.

"What are you doing, Nikola?" she asked, making to pull her hand from his grip but he held firm.

"Your lips can lie, Helen, but not your pulse!" he said, looking into her eyes as he let go of her hand.

Helen sighed, "This day is going to be a long one."

In the evening Will was stepping out of the hall. "Well, where are they?" he asked.

"You know Magnus," Kate said without looking up from her magazine, "she's thorough and has Tesla distracting her. Who knows how long it could take."

"Yeah, Will, don't worry!" Henry said. "We have 2 hours till the concert starts so ... Here they are ..." Henry stumbled over the last word. "Doc, what happened to you?"

* * *

**Hehe...)**

**I'm waiting for your reviews, comments and thoughts...)**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Helen was mad as hell and Will realized he'd never seen her like this before. It was like one word would make her explode with anger. Nikola seemed just as angry too. They were both covered from head to foot in an awful smelling slime, looking as if they'd been dragged through the entire sewer of Baku.

"Don't even ask!" Helen said through clenched teeth.

Henry addressed the Serb, "Tesla?"

"Have you heard? Don't ask!" Nikola snarled.

Helen passed her hand over her hair impatiently and asked briefly, "Keys, have you got them?"

Kate, Will and Henry exchanged glances but Helen wasn't paying them any attention and missed it.

"Yeah, but Magnus…" Kate tried.

"Excellent, then go!"

"But Doc…" Henry began.

"Whatever it is, Henry, it can wait until I take a shower! Blame Nikola if it's more urgent," Helen replied, annoyed before glaring at Nikola who was standing not far from the rest of them. He heard her angry voice and curled his lips in response.

Taking the lift to the sixth floor, Helen reached out her hand and said, "My key!"

"Oh, now we're in for it…" Kate sighed.

"And?" Helen asked.

"It happens that we have only two room keys: we were mentioned as a group and the hotel manager proposed us to exchange our four rooms for two triple suites. There were no more available rooms because of the contest, besides how could we have refused?!" Kate said. "So we decided that we three," she pointed to Will and Henry, "would share one room, and you and Tesla would be in another one…"

"Though now we aren't so sure," Will added.

Helen slowly counted to ten in her head. God knew, she didn't intend to lose her temper at them, but this time she felt required to teach them a lesson and remind them who the boss was after all. Her eyes turned icy and narrowed evilly, remaining silent as she thought up what could be the best punishment for them all when Nikola jumped in.

"I wouldn't share a room with her," Nikola protested, "she would shoot me on the spot!"

"I could do it right now!" Helen's sinister reply followed.

"Calm down, Magnus, there are too many eyewitnesses here," Will put his hand on her shoulder. "Besides, we were assured that the rooms were big enough, so there is a possibility for you to live together even without meeting there," he noted.

"There is no alternative, plus it's just for a night, please Doc," Henry looked at her pleadingly. "And the concert starts in less than few hours…" he added faintly.

Helen closed her eyes and rubbed her temple with two fingers, trying to suppress the forthcoming migraine, and then she finally said, "My key!" took it, she went to the door.

"I wonder if there is one bedroom." Nikola mused.

Helen's eyes flashed with such a fire that the vampire decided perhaps he would drink wine in the bar; he even turned round in the direction of the elevator when he was stopped by Helen's loud yell, and he entered the suite.

Will was about to follow them but Kate said, "Don't do that!"

"But they will kill each other!" he replied, sounding confident.

"Magnus is a big girl, and Tesla if you remember is a vampire, so they will quarrel a little they'll get it out of their systems," she said reasonably and went to another room. The boys hesitated but did the same.

As soon as the door closed behind Nikola, ominous silence hung in the air. Helen was panting for breath. She paid no attention to the luxury of the suite, to her absolutely unpresentable appearance, stuck on the idea of killing Nikola right that very second. Nikola stopped in front of the large window and looked out at the night city. He realized that this time he might have crossed the line.

"How dare you talk to me like this in the presence of my team?" she hissed.

As he heard that, he rolled his eyes, "I didn't say anything, but today you're acting like a foolish 16-year-old girl."

"Oh, like a girl?" Helen was already choked with rage. "Remind me who was so sensitive that dropped the cage with the abnormal, and we had to catch it again?" she asked sarcastically.

"Not my fault that the damn creature licked my fingers," Nikola protested.

"I've always suspected you of being a milksop…" Helen retorted.

"Can I remind you who didn't catch it when it fell straight into their arms? Don't blame all this on me, Helen." He undid the buttons of his jacket, and wrinkled up his nose in disgust, adding, "and you owe me a new suit."

"Suit?" she asked, not believing her ears. "After the dangerous abnormal we were tracking today, you care only for your suit?" Helen was outraged by his words and came close to him.

"But nothing happened. No one got hurt," he sighed wearily.

"You don't give a damn about anything or anyone!"

Her words started to anger him and he barked, "Of course, because you're the only one who can be perfect. Helen Magnus is always right, Helen Magnus doesn't make mistakes, Helen Magnus always comes to the rescue."

"You're just an ungrateful moron!" she blurted out.

"And you're a fanatical perfectionist!" he shouted at her.

Helen was seized by indignation completely. She didn't even have time to think as she raised her hand against him to hit him, but he was faster and caught her wrist, then the other one. She tried to release herself from his grip, but he knew all her moves and her resistance led to falling on the floor with her arms pressed over her head. Helen tried to kick Nikola with her leg, hoping at least to hurt him, if not free herself but instantly she was pressed against the full length of his body, unable to move either legs or arms. But even in such desperate position, she went on with trying to escape.

"Let. Me. Go!" she cried.

"You'll be lying here until you calm down," he said, looking at her with his piercing blue-gray eyes.

"When I get out, you'll be dead!" she barked. "Unbearable, incorrigible, stupid ..." She continued to abuse him, still resisting, and he crushed his lips to hers in a fierce kiss. He didn't even know how it happened, he just wanted her to be quiet, but when he touched her soft, warm lips his anger vanished, leaving his blood boiling with desire.

She tried to scream, but only a vague sound was, came out instead. She still tried to evade, to avoid contact with his lips, but he held her tightly. She wanted to hit him, but the kiss was so daunting, demanding, absolutely thundering. She never expected that she could feel like this under him, in his arms, because of his kiss. It cut the ground from under her feet. And she unconsciously responded to him.

As soon as her lips moved under his, his kiss as if by magic became gentle, tempting as if he was asking for forgiveness. Helen's head spun, she had even forgotten how to breathe. An instant and this tenderness vanished, being defeated in battle with burning passion. Helen desperately wanted to bury her fingers in his hair, but he continued to hold her hands. She moved them and Nikola pulled away from her lips and looked straight into her eyes. His eyes were blazing with a breathtaking fire, and that sent shivers down her spine. Without thinking too long, she arched her back and caught his lips again in a kiss, even more passionate one than was before. He let go of her hands, and she immediately embraced him, burrowed her fingers into his silky tousled hair. His hand slid down her body and grabbed her leg below the knee, pressed her even tighter to him. Helen moaned. She pulled off his jacket, enjoying the flexing of his muscles under the fine cloth of his shirt. It didn't matter neither the place, nor the fact that they literally almost killed each other, nor that they both were smeared with a sticky slime. None of them were ready for such a fierce desire, but they just couldn't stop.

Meanwhile, in the room next door, Will was beside himself with anxiety, at last he stood up, "I'll check how Magnus is going ..." he said, standing and heading towards the other room. Approaching the door, he heard indistinct sounds and decided that the time to step in had come.

"Oh God, the last thing we need is for them to kill each other!" he said quietly, "with those two you never know what can happen." And with that, he knocked on the door. "What are you doing here, Henry?" he asked, as he saw his friend near.

Henry smiled, "I'm just checking how the Doc is holding up with the vampire!"

"Magnus, are you all right?" Will's voice came through the door as both men approached.

For a moment Helen didn't realize that someone was calling her. Nikola's violent kisses made her heart beat loudly, she was feeling dizzy, and had a buzzing in her ears. She tried to pull away, but he didn't allow it, raising her at a new level of insanity when his hot lips lost contact with hers and slid down her throat. He twitched her blouse and some buttons flew about the room. He held his breath, shaken by the view he had exposed, but for Helen the desire to feel him as close as was possible became overwhelming and she bent forward to him and his hand, passing caressingly over the silky skin of her bust and her black satin bra. He bowed his head and started to kiss each inch with his hot lips and tongue, leaving wet traces on her and Helen gasped with sensuality of his actions and moaned, unable to control herself.

There was louder knock at the door and Nikola tore himself away from her, growled, "I'll kill you protégé in the cruelest way I can manage!" His voice was hoarse because of passion and the vampiric notes broke through, provoking a fresh attach of butterflies in Helen's stomach. The knock sounded again.

"Doc!"

This time it was Henry.

"Don't even think to move!" Nikola said and kissed her. In a split second he was in front of the door and opened it.

"What happened, Junior?" he growled and looked at them with black eyes.

Guys even recoiled from him, "We would like to see Magnus!"

"It's impossible, I threw her out of the window!" he said and Henry's face fell.

"I'm all right!" Helen replied and looked over the shoulder of the vampire. "Nikola!" she added with a metallic note in her voice, and he looked at her with his blue eyes, and smirked at once, seeing she'd zipped her leather jacket to the chin, "Why aren't you getting ready for the concert?" she asked Henry and Will.

"We just worried about you, but now we see ..."

"Yes, everything is fine!" Nikola said, jumping in.

"Magnus, are you ok?" Will asked.

"Yes, of course! And now you can go! Thanks!" she smiled and closed the door. Nikola just growled irritated. "They were worried about me and it's very nice of them, Nikola," Helen replied.

"They should have worried about me instead; they don't know how fierce you are indeed!" he said with a sly smile and stepped closer. But Helen put her hand on his chest and blocked the kiss. The first ardour was over and she wasn't sure about whether what had just happened was right. Nikola's eyes flashed with some feeling, but it was only for a moment and a carefree smile was playing again on his face.

"We need to freshen up ourselves," she said. "I'm going to take a hot shower... and I advise you to do the same."

"I could rub your back, besides it's much more fun to do it together," he joked. But she just smiled.

"The advantage of these apartments is two bathrooms, so yours waits for you, as mine does." She took her things and disappeared in the bathroom.

No, he'll definitely find a way to quarter her protégé! The thought flashed in Nikola's head, and he went into the other bathroom, taking along a couple of bottles with wine.

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**Didn't you think that things were going to be so easy between these two, did you?)))**


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

Helen closed the bathroom door and leaned against it. A storm of emotions was dancing in her mind. Most of all she wanted was to get into his damn bathroom and crush her lips to Nikola as he did a few minutes ago on the floor. But she couldn't.

She turned on the water, undressed and stood with her head under the hot stream. Sitting in the bath, she embraced herself tightly and closed her eyes, feeling the water cascade down her back. All she needed was to calm down her thoughts and feelings. But it didn't work! His eyes, incredibly piercing and burning with passion were still in her mind. Helen shook her head and closed her eyes tighter.

She had no idea that things would turn out to be like that. He seduced her, she escaped, as had been their way for over a century. They danced with each other, and neither of them were able to stop the dance. And now, the kiss changed their usual rhythm. She was fully aware of being frightened. She liked their game because it was just a game, no rules, no aftereffects and she always had ways for retreating. She was afraid if she let him go farther he would have demanded her heart for good. But would he be able to keep it for so long? And if the answer was 'no' her brittle heart just couldn't bear it. He became her dream, an unattainable desire, but how and when, even she didn't know. And some dreams should remain only dreams, so she chose the most painless way for herself - to pretend that nothing had happened. With such thoughts, dressed in a bathrobe, Helen came out of the bathroom.

Meanwhile, in a nearby bathroom Nikola replayed recent events in his mind. His blood was still boiling, when he thought of Helen on the floor. Her passion was so irrepressible, ungovernable that he believed for a moment that he would win her affection. But as soon as he let her go, her brain turned on again, and she was Dr. Helen Magnus. Again. Nikola sipped wine and, threw his head back, closed his eyes. He wanted to say so much about how he'd been hiding his heart for so long, to prove that she was his everything but, for over a century, he hadn't been able to solve the puzzle of her heart and it didn't seem like something that would change. Each time he looked down into her beautiful eyes, about to reveal himself and his innermost secrets, the words just stuck in his throat.

Helen entered the room, her bare feet padding against the carpet. She was so preoccupied with her thoughts that she didn't realize she was only wearing a bathrobe until she was standing right behind Nikola, dressed in a similar manner as he grabbed a bottle of wine from the bar. Her heart flipped in her chest. "Goodness," she thought, "he looks damn sexy with wet hair." She wanted to thrust her fingers again into his hair, and the thought made her mouth go dry. Nikola turned and saw that she was looking at him with unseeing eyes. Wet hair curled even more, big fluffy bathrobe concealed her body, making it smaller. She seemed so homely, adorable, and the urge to hug her was almost painful.

"A penny for your thoughts!" he finally said.

Helen blinked as if collecting herself and asked with a mischievous smile, "Just a penny?"

Nikola cocked an eyebrow, "And what will you ask for a fee? Just remember I'm a poor vampire."

"Oh, I don't know," she replied thoughtfully, "What about a dinner ..."

"I've already complied with your wish. I called room service and ordered chicken, salad and wine."

"Wine?" she asked.

"The wine is for me. There'll be tea for you, don't worry."

"Oh, how kind of you! Won't there be too much for you alone?" and looked significantly at the bottle in his hand.

"Well, perhaps we can share a bottle," he allowed, holding out the bottle for her.

She took a sip and smiled. "How courteous of you," she teased and they both laughed.

"So I'm waiting, what were you thinking about?" Nikola repeated his question.

Helen wrinkled her nose and said, "No, probably dinner is too cheap a fee."

He raised an eyebrow in askance, "And?" After a beat, her eyes began to sparkle mischievously and Nikola was on edge. He knew that look too well and what it foreshadowed too - something absolutely crazy.

"So the payment is," she said at last, "you will be my servant for a whole evening!" and sat on the sofa, crossed her legs.

Nikola choked on his wine, "What?" A sly smile and innocent look in Helen's eyes spoke volumes. She knew that he would never agree to do that, and in fact, Nikola opened his mouth to express his indignation before a naughty grin appeared on his lips. Helen began to hesitate in her decision.

"As you wish, my lady," he said pompously and bowed. It was Helen's turn to choke with another sip. She didn't expect that he would have said 'yes' to her joke, that she even drew forward. Seeing her look full of astonishment mixed with wavering, Nikola smiled and raised his glass in her honor as if he was saying, "Who's the point winner now, ljubav?"

Helen took a deep breath, trying to digest what to do with the situation. To refuse would mean she was frightened but she never shrank from challenge… Well, almost. "Well, well, Nikola, you're going to regret this!" she said to herself and smiled radiantly. Knowing all his weaknesses, she was well situated to bring him to the boil, but the thought of him as her personal servant, stirred in her mind a variety of images, and not particularly clean ones at that.

"Agreed!" she said firmly and went to the table, set for dinner. It was decorated with flowers, and all dishes were smelt delicious and she suddenly realized that she was hungry, but she shouldn't forget about their bet for one instant. She waited when Nikola moved back her chair and as soon as he took the opposite end of the table, she said in a sweet voice,

"Nikola, could you…?" and looked at him, barely suppressing a smile. He sat down next to her, cut the chicken and was just about to take his glass of wine when Helen coughed. Nikola sighed, picked up the fork and began to feed her. She was happy as a child seeing him sniffing angrily, completely unaware what was on the mind of her 'servant', who hardly covered up the desire to set her down on the table and wipe off her derisive smile with hot kiss until she wrapped her long legs around his waist, and opened her mouth only for moans…

"Nikola!" Helen's voice returned him back to Earth.

"I didn't expect you eat so much," he teased her.

"This is what happens when you don't need to eat, vampire and all that," she said, shaking her head. "By the way, have you taken your medication?

"Don't tell me you're afraid I'll eat all the guests in the hotel?" he said.

Helen just rolled her eyes, he was definitely impossible.

When the dinner was over, Nikola took a napkin and wiped the corners of her mouth.

"Tea, my lady?" he asked calmly.

"Yes, please!" she replied and he handed her a cup of hot tea. Taking a sip, Helen shook her head and said, "It's too hot!" She put the cup aside to wait, when an idea came into her mind and she grinned brightly. Taking up a spoon, she scooped up a little tea and brought it to Nikola's lips.

"Do you give up yet?" she asked, seeing the apprehension in his eyes.

"Never!" Nikola blurted out before blowing on her tea. Their eyes met and the atmosphere of unstrained mirth evaporated in a flash. It seemed an eternity away, when the clock struck nine, and Helen was torn out from the hypnotic charm of Nikola.

"I think it's time to prepare for the concert!" she said in a low voice, standing up. She went into the bedroom and came near to the mirror. A soft flush colored her cheeks and she checked her forehead, thinking she might be ill**. **And, she thought, if she was 'ill' she could use it as an excuse to stay in the room and leave the concert to her team and Nikola. It was so tempting but she knew it would be too cruel. Instead she began applying her makeup before turning to dress.

She had bought it a long time ago, but she never wore it. It was dark red, as Nikola would say the color of red wine and the silk caressed her curves gently, ending just before her knees. The top of the dress was trimmed with a transparent chiffon inset, covering the collarbone and shoulders.

She slipped into it and tried to fasten the zipper, wriggling in every possible ways, but it was too long. She was already quite in despair, and was about to go in half-zipped dress, when she heard a deep voice straight in her ear:

"Let me."

Helen held her breath as Nikola's fingers began to zip her dress slowly, touching the bare skin of her back as easily as a feather.

"Don't hold your breath, my dear, you are too slim for this!" he said, smiling. "Well, there you go!" He finally stepped back.

Clearing her throat, Helen replied, "Thank you, the rest I'll do by myself!"

"Oh, no! I'm your servant for this evening!" he grinned. Helen turned at the sound of his voice. He looked amazing in a black evening suit, calm and confident, always creating unforgettable impression, which became stronger because of his love to strict suits. Not to mention the fact that few people knew what kind of power was hid under his slender, elegant appearance. And no one was so sexually attractive whilst wearing suits as Nikola was.

No, she was definitely out of her mind with such thoughts, flashed through Helen's mind.

Nikola took the pearl earrings, lying on the dressing table, and put them neatly into her ears, running his fingers down her neck, enjoying the softness of her skin. Then the ring was on her finger. Her dressing changed into a delicate game of seduction, full of accidental or intentional touches and made Helen feel butterflies in her stomach. She knew that this was his revenge on her for dinner, but if she had the chance to change anything, she wouldn't have.

He kneeled, and her eyes widened as he bent down and clasped his hand around her ankle, put on one high-heel black shoe, then the other one, his thumb sliding down her arch, making her gasp. After a moment, he finally rose to his feet, and she couldn't think straight, just waiting what would be next. Meanwhile, Nikola looked at her critically: a light silk dress was fitting her astoundingly, it seemed it was dancing around her long slender legs. It was elegant and not open, and because of it he liked it even more.

"Red wine, my favorite!" he said, looking straight into her eyes, Helen had expected that he would say something like that, and anyway she was confused, but Nikola went on, "Your hair!" he made her sit down at the dressing table, and began to comb her hair. He let it slip through his fingers, relishing its softness and delicate fragrance. Under his light movements her long curls were turning into soft waves. He did it so gently and tenderly, that Helen closed her eyes with pleasure.

"Now, there you are!" the sound of his voice woke her up.

Within few seconds she was looking at her reflection in the mirror, being unable to concentrate on, but then said mindlessly more to herself than to him, "Lipstick."

"Oh, how could I forget?!"

"Nikola, thank you, but ..."

"Do you give up?" he asked mockingly.

"No!" she said firmly and stood up, stretched him out a tube of lipstick. He took it and brought it to Helen's lips. He started painting them slowly, and his careful movements didn't tally with the whirlwind of emotions and desires that reigned in his mind. And looking at her wet slightly parted lips, he just could think of how good it was to taste them, to hear sensual sighs, escaping of these thoughts his mouth went dry and heart beat faster. He leaned a little closer...

Helen felt his thin warm fingers under her chin, light touch of her lips with lipstick. He kept his eyes on her lips, and she shifted her gaze to his, unable to resist the attraction and the feeling was so new, exciting, sparking a desire to touch him again, to taste his lips once more. She leaned forward to him...

But there was a loud sound of slamming doors, and Kate flew into the room at full speed with screaming, "Doc, I need a mascara, have you got it? Whoa, is this a bad time?" she stopped and looked at the couple with a curious expression on her face.

Helen leapt back from Nikola to the opposite side, and he grumbled, "You were born at the wrong time!"

"Kate, why aren't you ready yet?"

"I'm almost done, Doc!" the young woman said and grabbed the mascara, was already halfway to the door.

"So you're going to be like this?" Nikola sneered at her, looking at her towel wrapped around the body. "Then you needn't make up your eyes, no one will notice anyway!"

"Take it easy, Fang Boy, I'm fed up with fretful men today," she turned to Helen, "they are worse than girls: Will spent two hours in the shower, and let me ask you, what so you think he was doing in there for so long?" she turned again to the vampire, "and by the way, I'm not talking about the lipstick in your sharp-clawed paws." Helen chuckled.

"Watch your language!" Nikola snapped.

But Kate was already out of sight.

"Children!" the vampire muttered, with soft echo of Helen's voice. He stared at her in mute amazement, and a broad smile appeared on his face.

"Don't even dare to tell anyone!" she threatened him. And the Serb nodded assent but an unbridled joy was still splashing in his eyes.

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**Oh, those children…)))**

**Thank you for reading, and please share with me your thoughts and opinions, they mean a lot to me.)))**


	6. Chapter 6

**Ta-da, here's the next chapter.) I know it's a bit short, but I hope that you'll still like it. Enjoy!)**

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**Chapter 6**

"Ready?" Nikola asked.

"I think so." Helen turned to the mirror and smoothed her dress. Nikola let his admiration be reflected in his eyes, the way she moved, behaved, looked, was always royally elegant and absolutely fabulous. He adored watching her but she turned round and the vampire looked unhappily at the cell phone in her hand, "Can't you survive without it for one evening?" he asked her.

"Just in case! Besides, aren't you supposed to love all technology, being the father of the modern age and all?" she asked with a smile.

"I do not deny this, but _that_ monster was not of my creation." He pointed at the phone, "Plus it has started to control my life! And you know I'm not one to submit to anyone or anything."

Helen chuckled.

"Give it to me!" he grabbed the phone and put it in a pocket of his jacket. "Now you can't run away because of an emergency and leave like Cinderella and midnight." He smiled and offered her an arm.

Helen threaded her hand through his arm and shot back, "That will depend on your behavior." Seeing his eyes sparkled and a mischievous smile appear on his face, she laughed, "No, Nikola, no to all your suggestions!"

"I didn't even say a word!" he said, looking offended.

"Ahh, but I know what you're thinking," she countered with a small smile.

He leaned over and whispered in her ear, "So then you know how stunning I think you look today!"

Helen's heart missed a beat, and promptly turned the conversation to another subject, "Please, tell Kate and boys that we'll be waiting for them in the hall."

Nikola inclined his head in response, "Oh, really? I could even hurry them, though I can't promise that they will be able to move after that at all. I would be more than satisfied with that though."

"Nikola!"

Before she could finish, he was again next to her, "There is nobody in the room!"

Despite the fact that during her long life she met the most incredible powers that ever existed on the Earth surface and Nikola's amazing speed, exceptional hearing, and strength were things she had grown used to, but they still made her shiver every time he applied them. And the thought that the reason might be in their owner she quickly dismissed, replying light-heartedly, "Well, then lets go."

They walked down in a richly decorated hall when Nikola suddenly stopped, "Tell me that my sight deceives me."

Helen looked in the direction of his gaze and asked, "So what?" though she already understood what he had meant.

"What? You ask me 'what'? Just look at them!" Nikola was outraged. "If we move fast toward the door, we'll escape being unnoticed."

"Oh, don't be a child, Nikola! There is nothing wrong with them," she said, and pulled him to Will, Henry and Kate waiting for them.

"Wow, Doc, you look great!" Henry breathed.

"Thank you, Henry!" Helen replied with a soft smile, "you, too!"

"He does not!" Nikola butted. "Henry, where have you dug up these jeans at all? Were you going to the concert or with Walking Carpet to the market for groceries?"

"They are new!" the other man said, offended.

But the Draconian Serb already turned to Will, "And you Junior, burn this tie and bury the ashes!"

"Tesla ..." began Will, but Helen interrupted him, "Nikola, stop a taxi please!"

"Helen, I'm busy, the doorman can do it, it's his job!" he replied sharply.

"Nikola!" Helen repeated calmly, "Or do you refuse?"

He looked angrily at her, then turned to young part of their group, "I'll finish with you later," and headed for the exit door.

As he disappeared, Kate exclaimed, "Oho, Magnus, that was awesome! How did you manage to control Vlad?" she asked slyly.

"Let's just say this is an exclusive offer and its validity is limited," Helen smiled. "And you two, why are you so upset?" she asked, looking at Will and Henry's gloomy faces. "It's time to go, or we'll be late for your concert." With that they all left the hotel.

"Tesla is so ..." Henry began.

"Charming!" Nikola finished for him.

"Quite the contrary!" Will murmured.

"So, in the cars," Kate said loudly and pulled Henry in a taxi, "Will!" she yelled, "why are you dawdling there?" Finally the car with three passengers was off. Nikola opened the door of another car and Helen slipped into the back seat. All the way, he was silent, just as she was.

"What's wrong?" she asked, unable to stand the uncomfortable silence much longer.

"Why have you decided that something is wrong?" he asked, but still avoiding looking at her.

"Nikola, I've known you more than 100 years, and I always know when you aren't you. Speak up! Was it because I had sent you to catch a taxi, but it was you who had agreed to be my servant for today," she said jokingly, touched his arm.

He turned to her, "Seriously, Helen, do you always know?" It seemed, he hadn't heard anything from her words, except the first sentence, or just he might not want to hear. The feeling flashed again in his eyes, embarrassed Helen, and she stammered out, "Actually ..."

"Don't!" he interrupted her wearily.

Helen sighed, feeling as her elevated mood was evaporating fast, "You know, Will's tie is really terrible!" she finally said. "Nigel's trousers could have compared with it. The green checkered ones, do you remember?"

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw his lips twitched into a small smile. Those trousers had become a talk of the town, Nigel hadn't spoken to Nikola for a week after his caustic yet accurate comments. After that, Nigel had stopped wearing them.

"He scared away all pigeons in the area because of his terrible taste," Nikola said at last.

"Well, I think you got your revenge when you hung them as a flag over the dormitory buildings." She saw as smile appeared at the corners of his eyes, and felt relieved, she hated to quarrel with him, but it was an inherent part of their friendship.

"We're here!" the driver said and the car stopped in front of a huge concert hall. Nikola paid, and exited the car, offering his hand to Helen. In a moment they found themselves at the center of a seething stream of people, who were screaming around, singing, waving flags. The atmosphere of fun was so contagious that Helen thought that the coming here to the contest might not be such a bad idea.

"I hate crowds!" Nikola muttered.

His remark made her smile, "Then you should have stayed at the Sanctuary," she retorted.

"And it's all your fault!" he grunted and Helen sighed, rolled her eyes. She didn't wonder why, perhaps because of the energy of surrounding people, or the presence of only one eternally nagging Serbian vampire affected on her, but she suddenly felt different – younger, more lighthearted and for the first time in a long time she wanted to dance. All things she had to take care of constantly drew back, left just joyful anticipation. She laughed at other Nikola's malicious look, shot towards the crowd bubbling with life, and quickly kissed him on the cheek.

"This should cheer you up!" she said slyly, and waved to her team.

His astonishment was so charming, genuine, that it reminded her of old Nikola she'd met once and who had had such a profound effect on her heart. He was about to answer her with something ambiguous, in his usual manner, but after seeing her shining eyes, he suddenly realized that he hadn't see her like this for a long time, so he just smiled at her.

Kate was tapping with her heels, "Well, why are you so slow, it's about to begin?" she asked impatiently.

"We have time, Booty, don't worry!" Nikola said, and when the little group went ahead, he whispered, leaning over to Helen, "And you reproached me for the desire to get rid of them."

Helen just rolled her eyes in response.

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**And thank you all for reading and reviewing, it makes me smile like Cheshire Cat.)**


	7. Chapter 7

**Mmmm, I don't want to tire you with long explanations, you don't need them for forming your opinion on this chapter, so just enjoy!)**

**And thanks for reading!)**

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**Chapter 7**

After passing through security, then the long corridors of the building, they finally arrived in a huge glittering hall, filled with lights, sounds and the noise of thousands of people. Henry kept looking about as they walked to their seats, eyes wide in shock. "Wow," he breathed.

"Oh, so easily impressed, Heinrich!" Nikola said tartly. "After so many years of working with Helen in the Sanctuary, are you still so quickly surprised?"

"Actually, yes!" Henry looked round the hall again, delight written on his face. "It's just cool! Gimmie a break, OK?"

"I must admit, Nikola, it looks really great!" Helen added in support of Henry.

But Nikola made a face. "You said that back then, in New York, when we went to the performance of that girl, what was her name?" he asked.

"Judy Garland," prompted Helen, "and it was difficult to appreciate because you couldn't have stopped commenting on her every gesture and word."

He grinned. "Oh, come on, I told the truth!" He met Helen's look with an arched eyebrow. "For the most part."

She smiled at him, remembering a time when he'd tried so very hard to get the truth from her. He had arrived on her doorstep one day with 'grand' news, informing her that he had secured her a place at a much sought after conference. However, it very quickly came to light that she was not just a guest and a presenter, but a 'volunteer' for a lie detector test. And, of course, Nikola had wanted to be the one to ask the questions. Through sheer chance, she'd prevented him from doing so though she'd always wondered what he would have asked, given the chance. But, as the lights went down and the show started, Helen pushed aside the memory.

Music, costumes, songs, dances… They all watched enraptured as every contestant tried to surprise the audience, though almost nobody was passed over by Nikola's sharp tongue. His caustic remarks, which he made in a low voice in Helen's ear. Her skin was half scalded by his hot breath just like when they were back at Oxford, attending boring classes where he had nothing better to do than tease the professor. Catching a glimpse of his cunning eyes, Helen found her giggling spreading across the auditorium. She caught Will's wide-eyed glances and she coughed a few times, trying to conceal her impolite laughter with her palm, and having a strong desire to kick Nikola. And she would do that if she was sure that it would silence him.

Kate was fidgeting in her seat from the very beginning. She turned to the others, jumping up."Well, it's dull to just sit here, I'm going to dance, who's with me?" Henry jumped up instantly. Seeing that Will remained sitting, the young woman grabbed his hand, "Will, get your ass off that seat!" And with that she pulled both men after her.

"Well, here we are, alone!" Nikola grinned and made himself more comfortable beside Helen.

"You're repeating yourself!" she joked, looking at him.

"I'd say I'm becoming predictable." He grinned at her and she couldn't help returning the smile.

On stage appeared new contestants, this time from Russia.

And to her astonishment he didn't make dubious comments, keeping politely silent.

"I like them," he said simply as it ended. Helen turned to him and smiled contentedly. It was Nikola after all, and as long as she knew him, he would have never said 'I like', and it was doubly pleasant to hear that he'd appreciated them. But the three-minute break was over quickly and the Serb returned to the commenting on the show, each time causing Helen a fit of laughter.

Suddenly, breathless Kate ran up to them.

"Kate, what happened?" Helen alarmed.

"No, everything is all right, Magnus!" the young woman gasped. "I want you to join us. It's just great and you're sitting here like two mossy mushrooms!"

"You must be joking!" Nikola jumped in, "we aren't going into such a crush!"

Helen looked at the stage, then at the obstinate vampire and said, "Thanks, Kate!" and the girl, shrugged her shoulders, already turned around to go away, when she was stopped by Helen's words, "we're with you!"

"What?" Nikola couldn't believe his ears.

Helen left her seat and stretched out a hand to him, "Nikola, are you coming?"

"Are you crazy?" he cried.

Helen shrugged and dropped over her shoulder, "Then stay here alone!" And both women went away.

The grumpy vampire sat for a while, arms folded over his chest, murmuring swearwords in his native language, but he gave a heavy sigh, "Oh, this woman will be death of me!" he said, standing.

Meanwhile Helen made her way into the noisy crowd, trying to follow Kate when possible, but then in a split of a second she lost sight of her. Somebody in a fit of violent excitement ran into her, and despite all attempts to balance herself she would have nearly fallen her back, if Nikola's strong hands hadn't caught her.

"I told you to stay there," he said gruffly.

And he instantly got a reply as she released herself from his embrace, "No way!"

Nikola chuckled and mused, "Eh, mind compulsion would be definitely very useful with you Helen, wouldn't it?"

Helen looked at him puzzled, and then burst out laughing loudly, "Don't tell me you're watching 'The Vampire Diaries'?"

"Me? How could you think so low of me?" he exclaimed.

Helen glanced back at him and a curious smile was playing on her lips.

"Well, I've seen it once or twice as Henry watched it open-mouthed. Besides, you know, I always observe carefully what these so-called film directors think up about vampires! Although I must admit, the idea of mind compulsion I liked, such scope ..." he said musingly, when suddenly realized, "How do you know?"

"Well, you know, I always observe carefully what these so-called film directors think up about vampires," she replied in the same tone.

He chuckled carefree, and whispered in her ear, "Admit it, the reality is much more interesting!"

Helen smiled. "Without a doubt!"

Finally they approached to stage and immediately noticed Kate and Henry who were no different from the crowd around them dancing, jumping and singing. Will was more restrained, but Will was Will and a soft smile appeared on Helen's face. Kate was right, it was an atmosphere varying greatly from one where they'd been sitting. There were no thoughts, concerns, problems, all that was left outside. There was only music. Every contestant had their own incredible energy and it was so exciting to feel it right here.

Nikola, who was standing behind Helen, harped on the same tune of "boring!" until the presenters announced, "Meet the next contestant, Zeljko Joksimovic, from Serbia with his song 'Nije ljubav stvar'!"

He livened up and stepped closer to Helen. "This could be interesting!"

The lights went out, highlighting the stage, and suddenly the hall was filled with the a beautiful melody, the sounds of violins and a grand piano interlacing with one another. It was captivating and luring, prompting thoughts Nikola thought he'd disposed of long ago. He looked to Helen and their eyes met.

"Dance with me?" he asked softly, and held out his hand to her. She hesitated just a moment, but there was something in his eyes that caused her to place her hand in his and step into his arms. Her hand landed on his shoulder, his on her waist while his free hand grabbed hers and pressed it to his heart. They danced though it wasn't much of a dance; they were simply embracing and swaying slightly.

A few moments later, as the singer began to sing, Nikola smiled and leaned closer to Helen. "It's a nice song."

"Maybe," she replied, "but Serbian is your native language, not mine."

"You know it, I taught you," he insisted with a smile before burying his nose in her wonderfully scented hair.

"I haven't used it in more than 60 years," she retorted. "I've forgotten it." She shivered though, feeling his breath and warmth of his hand, sending tingles down her spine.

"I will translate for you," he proposed.

"_**Nije ljubav stvar …"  
**_

"Love is not a thing," he started.

"_**Da bih ti je vratio ... "  
**_

"So I could give it back to you," he said, spinning Helen first out and then back into his arms.

"_**Gledaj, to sam samo ja…"  
**_

He grinned and looked down into her eyes, "Look, it's just me!"

"_**Uvek sam te voleo…"  
**_

Her back was pressed against his chest and he nuzzled into her neck. "I loved, love and will always love you!"

Helen gasped for air, feeling as her heart beat faster, and it became difficult to breathe. "You're wrong, it's 'I've always loved you'," she corrected him.

He grinned, "Liar! I knew you remembered!"

But the music began to gain in strength and pace and Helen found herself unable to reply. The speed of their movements increased, the smoothness disappeared made way for passion. Touching through the clothes... sliding of their bodies... ardent and so intimate an embrace and then again parting...

People around them parted to give them space. Nikola spun her back to face him, her dress swirling around his knees. Their breathing quickened and Helen found herself dizzy; a by product of his words, his strength and the music. It seemed like they had been dancing like this their whole lives. It seemed so logical, so right and it betrayed how perfectly they knew each other. They didn't notice anything, not the people around them, not the dazed looks on Will, Henry and Kate's faces, just the magic of the beautiful Serbian love song. It captured them completely. Helen gave herself up to the dance, reveling in every second until Nikola began to whisper in her ear. "The Christmas ball in the embassy in 1939, let's do it once again!"

"_**Idi, samo, samo, idi, tamo…"**_

"Go, just, just go there…"

She managed to exclaim, "No!" but he had already grabbed her by the waist and lifted her up, beginning to twirl about.

"_**Leti, pevaj, srce drugome daj…"**_**  
**

** "**Fly, sing, give your heart to somebody else…"

For the first second Helen gasped, being over him, and seized his shoulders but it was only for a moment. She looked into his eyes, seeing him silently promise that he could never let her fall.

"_**Al' znaj da zbogom nije kraj…"**_

"But keep in mind that Good Bye is not the end…"

To the onlookers it was an impressive spectacle: a beautiful woman in a floating dress in the arms of a strong man. She was relishing every instant of their dance and before she knew it, she was once again standing on the floor, pressed against Nikola so tightly, skin to skin, that she couldn't return to the reality of the moment.

There was the final chord of the song, finishing with applause, whistles, but only two people perceived nothing, frozen impossibly close, cuddled up to each other, their heartbeats muffling all surrounding sounds.

Nikola's lips were just inches from hers, Helen realized and their noisy breaths were mixing between them.

His eyes had lost their so habitual sneer and flirtation, as if the dance tore off all, exposing his soul, burning with unappeasable passion and she found herself lost in his captivating eyes, unable to think about anything but staying in his arms.

Nikola broke their silence first. "You're still a great dancer, ljubav!" he said, looking into her eyes.

She smiled, "And you still like to shock people."

"Oh, come on, it was just like old times! Helen Magnus and her companion behaving improperly." He laughed slightly still not taking his eyes off her.

"I remember well that then I was rebuked by John!" she parried. "But I have to admit, it was breathtaking! Then and now!" she added, and saw as his eyes light up.

"If I kiss you, will you shoot me?" he asked suddenly.

Helen was taken aback at his sincerity and at first, she didn't know what to say, even though her lips unconsciously parted and the thought, pulsing in her head in accord with her heart, was, 'kiss me'. It was Henry who saved her from having to answer, appeared near them with such an enthusiastic face, "That was awesome, Doc!"

"Wow, Vlad!" Kate added. "I didn't know you could move like that!" Will remained silent, frowning, but his clever and penetrating eyes were trying to figure out something, Helen could tell. He shifted his gaze from his boss to the vampire, and back to Helen, but in a few seconds he seemed to relax.

Nikola finally looked at Helen's team and he smirked arrogantly.

"Feel free to bask in my genius," he crowed. "Now get this horrid woman off stage, her voice is grating to say the least. My ears are blocked because of her yelling.

The other pulled faces.

"And by the way, how long do we have to hang around here?"

"There is going to be one more number, then voting!" Henry replied.

Nikola rolled his eyes, "I should have been warned in advance, I would have grabbed a couple bottles of wine," he winced again, "although maybe a box would be better suited!" At that, Helen laughed.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

Kate leaned over to Henry and said in his ear, "Distract Tesla!"

"Wwwhat?" Henry stammered, staring at her as if she had two heads and asked, "Why?"

"Too many questions, just do it!" the young woman barked. "I'll explain later, promise." She smiled at him innocently.

"Well, how am I supposed to distract him?"

"Do I have to teach you? Ask him about his work, for example, he can talk for hours about that. Now go!" Kate said angrily and pushed Henry in the direction of Nikola, who was standing near Helen.

Henry came up beside Nikola and cleared his throat. He looked anxiously towards Kate but she just nodded. Poor Henry took a deep breath and said thoughtfully, "H'm, I wonder how they managed to display in the colours of the performing country's flag on the outside walls of the hall?"

Nikola raised an eyebrow and turned to him, "That was the most stupid question, I've ever heard from you, Heinrich!"

Henry swallowed nervously, but continued, "No, I certainly understand that the point is in the design features of the building, but how exactly is still a mystery to me. What do you think, Will?" He turned to his friend, standing not far from them, but Will didn't even have time to open his mouth.

"Why do you ask him?" Nikola laughed, "He doesn't know how to screw in a light bulb."

Will shrugged indifferently and returned to watching the concert. Henry looked back at Nikola, waiting. Helen arched an eyebrow, fixing her gaze on Nikola as she too waited. Their silence was louder than the previously loud contestant and Nikola sighed. "Listen closely to me, Wolf Boy. I won't repeat myself…" Henry was about to say something, but Nikola raised his hand, calling him to silence, "No questions!" And then he began to explain. Watching him, Helen smiled. She had always suspected that her friend, in spite of his temper and caustic attitude, he really did care for the young tech.

Kate smiled as she watched, seeing her plan in action and turned to Helen, grabbing her hand and hauling her off into the dancing crowd.

Helen looked puzzled, "Kate, are you all right?" The loud music made it impossible to speak and Helen had to lean forward and yell into the other woman's ear.

Kate did the same and cried, "I just need to talk to you, but alone."

Helen smiled, "Then it isn't the best place you've chosen. There are thousands of people around us." But Kate didn't laugh at the joke.

"Magnus, tell me, what's going on between you and Tesla?"

"I think that's none of your business!" Helen replied a little coldly. "And secondly - nothing, we're just friends!"

"I agree, it's not my business, but friends? Doc, I'm not that naïve." Helen paused, and Kate was sure that her boss was going to fire her before running off but Kate wouldn't give up. "The sparks fly between you guys!"

Helen remained silent for a moment and the seconds ticked by. "It's complicated," she said suddenly.

"And love is never simple," Kate retorted, but she was sincere.

Helen shook her head and smiled sadly, "I know that, Kate. I was engaged to Jack the Ripper, after all."

"And that's why you are afraid to give Dracula a chance?" the young woman asked, but she caught Helen's eye. "Sorry, Tesla," she corrected herself. "You are afraid that he will turn into a monster?"

"Oh, no, I'm not afraid he'll become a monster! He's just not capable of it. Yes, he is selfish, arrogant, mostly hurtful and obsessed with his vampire heritage, but he isn't a monster." She spoke with such a confidence that it made Kate in victory. Helen again fell silent. And Kate has nothing but to wait, she could only suppose how hard it was for her boss to say that.

"The process of his transformation was the experience of my life, but if spite of the overwhelming bloodlust, that controlled him, he was ready to kill himself rather than hurt me! Does that sound like the Nikola you know?"

The young woman nodded with a smile, but asked, "Then, what's wrong?"

"Do you know what angels fear?" Helen asked a counter-question.

Kate just shook her head with a puzzled look. Helen continued, "There is a book, it's called 'What angels fear'. And the answer is so simple, they fear making a wrong move and having to live with that knowledge for all eternity." She fell silent for a moment. "I'm not an angel, but I don't want to suffer forever, knowing that he... he doesn't..." and her voice broke.

"That he doesn't love you," Kate concluded.

Helen ran her eyes around: the show still went on, noise, laughter, shouts around them. A little way away from them, she saw Nikola explaining something to Henry and, waving his arms about. Her heart throbbed with emotion and for a moment, her eyes moistened though she tried to blink it away. The strange conversation reminded her of conversations with Ashley, her daughter pleading with her to try dating. It always ended with them both lying about, laughing. What would her golden girl have said about Nikola? Would she have agreed with Kate? The questions helped mask her fear of making a decision on her own. Oh god, how desperately she missed her little girl….

"Doc," Kate touched her hand and caught Helen's attention, "he would follow you to hell, don't you see that? And it isn't because you're his best friend, but because you are_ the woman_ in his life and will always be! And the only woman he would let shoot him so many times," Kate added.

Helen laughed through her tears, "Actually, I agree with that."

"I'm not asking you to start an affair with him immediately, just take one small step towards him and then you'll see. He isn't my favourite guy but he doesn't deserve to live an eternity in waiting. After all, we women know how to get out of any situation..." the young woman smiled cheerfully and Helen suddenly thought that perhaps the girl, despite her age, was wiser and braver than she with her 157 years. Kate tried to catch sight of their men, "All right, let's finish with this girly chat, the voting is about to start. Just… think on what I've said." And she turned to go leave…

But Helen kept her hand, asking, "Who else knows about...?"

Kate smiled knowingly and replied, "Just me, men are so blind, even the born psychologist." She nodded in Will's direction.

"Thank you!" Helen said.

"Not at all, Doc! But I think it's time to save Henry, I'm afraid his set of silly questions is over, and Dracula looks as if he is ready to bury him alive."

Helen chuckled, and they hurried to help Henry, who was so obviously relieved to see Kate that he sighed happily. Nikola huffed like a kettle and turning to Helen, angrily said, "Helen, I am absolutely disappointed by your skills of selection of personnel, they don't understand the simplest things."

"But they know their areas well. So I suggest you give up the conversation to watch the voting."

"As you wish," Nikola said, "but you need to find a way to improve their professional skills, and then..."

"Nikola!" she warned him.

"By the way, where have you been?" he suddenly changed the subject.

"Oh, just women's talk," she smiled, taking his arm.

"And will you tell me?" he asked.

"No way!" she smiled, being captured by his smart and sparkling eyes for the hundredth time during the evening.

"Why?" he asked calmly.

"Because it's none of your business!"

"So you were talking about me!" His confidence was absolute that Helen paused for a moment. He grinned. "Gotcha!"

Helen quickly replied, "No, of course not!"

He leaned down and said, "It seems to me that you react too violently, my dear, so I'm right!"

She had no choice but to admit it with a sigh. "Yes, we're talking about you!"

His eyebrows rose and a smirk played on his lips that Helen had an unbearable desire to wipe off immediately. "Yes, Kate asked how long would you stay in the Sanctuary, and had you thought about moving?"

Nikola just snorted, "I hope you said that I was your favourite, and a welcome guest?"

"Of course!" And in response she received a warm smile, his eyes dancing. "And I also noted that if you wanted to stay him, you would stop tormenting my team and, in atonement of your rudeness you'd promised ..."

She was cut off by Nikola's indignant exclamation, "You wouldn't dare!"

Helen was ready to giggle, but she kept a straight face. "To clean of all the computers in Henry's office!"

"No, you didn't!" Nikola cried. She felt his hand tense under hers and she gasped inwardly. She had distracted him… She rolled her eyes, silent for the moment before giving him a small smile.

"I'm sorry to say I did."

"Helen, please say you're kidding!"

"Tesla, look, 10 points go to Serbia," Henry spoke to him.

Nikola gave him an angry look before turning back to Helen.

Henry gave Helen a puzzled look and then shrugged at Nikola. Tonight, it seemed everything was going over his head. First Kate and her strange request and now this…

Helen couldn't help laughing as Nikola fumed. It took a second for him to realize he had been fooled but when he did, he grabbed her by the arms and growled in her ear.

"I'll make you pay for this."

The sound of his voice always made Helen shudder, but this time it was allied with his embrace and it was completely intoxicating. She pulled back slightly and winked at him. "I'd like to see you try."

She had never before seen someone's jaw literally drop, let alone Nikola's but he was speechless. She smiled and released herself from his grip, still holding his arm as if nothing had happened.

"It seems to me, Sweden is winning," she said calmly.

* * *

**Ehhh, we are closer and closer to the ending…**

**Anyway tell me what you do think, your reviews make me smile and mean really a lot to me!)**

**Thanks my dears for reading!)**


	9. Chapter 9

**Hello, my Dears!) **

**Yes, I know it has been a looooong time since the last update, and I am very sorry for that. When the real life is in full swing, there is no escape.) But I promise that I neither forgot you nor abandoned the story.)**

**Anyway, you don't need my lyrical digression, so I present you the next chapter of my story.) **

**Hope you will not be too hard on me.) **

**Enjoy!)**

* * *

**Chapter 9**

"I can't believe Sweden won," Kate muttered, slightly indignant as they all made their way out of the concert hall. "Serbia was totally the best."

"Congratulations, you've got a taste!" Nikola told her, a little surprised as he raised a hand to his chest in astonishment.

"I liked Greece," Will put in.

The Serb screwed up his face and retorted, "You are a lost cause, Huggybear."

The all laughed, apparently comfortable with one another. It was so unusual for them all to feel comfortable in their ill-matched group, but the buzz from the concert seemed to have smoothed over the rough edges to the point where even Nikola was smiling.

"What about babushkas from Russia?" Henry asked. "They were hilarious! Which was your favourite, Doc?" He turned to Helen.

Helen paused, thinking for a moment. "Estonia sounded all right…" She didn't even have time to finish her comment before Kate and Henry jumped in together.

"Ewwwwwww…"

"And I did thoroughly enjoy England..."

Nikola raised his eyebrow and shook his head. "Why am I not surprised, ljubav?"

She gave him a significant look before continuing. "But my heart belongs to Serbia. They were by far my favourite."

Nikola was startled and for a moment all he could hear was his heartbeat - strong, fast, and deafening. Only through immense self control did he avoid jumping on the spot because of his stupid, sentimental heart. His breath stuck in his throat and he couldn't locate his biting wit to answer with half because he didn't want to say anything. It would ruin the moment and he wanted to keep it in his memory just as it was. He slowly turned to look at her and Helen shot him a flirty glance, but the fleeting glimpse of his eyes caught her by surprise. She had no idea why she had said that. Was it just a way to express her feeling towards the song or somewhat much more heartfelt towards her Serbian friend? It was Kate who helped her to come back to reality by her babbling,

"All this has made me desperately hungry! Is there anywhere we can have a snack at that hour?"

"I'm afraid you'll have to wait until we get back to the hotel," Will replied.

"The hotel?" Kate moaned. "But I'll die of hunger before we get there!"

"Then I suggest we walk home instead," Helen proposed to everyone's amazement, "perhaps we'll be able to find somewhere to eat and feed our hungry little dancer." Kate nodded in agreement grabbed Henry's hand, pulling him down the street.

"Move you feet, Will! I'm not waiting until Christmas to eat if you're slow," she shouted over her shoulder. He rolled his eyes but caught up with her and they rushed along the night streets in search of food.

Nikola offered Helen his hand and she took it with a smile. He was silent. And she didn't interrupt their silence, as if she knew why he was keeping it... Being a vampire he didn't feel the temperature as humans did, and he held up his face to the bracing spring wind with delight. His mind needed some fresh air after the noise and stuffiness of the concert hall, and he was happy to breathe in the cool night. Not too far ahead Kate and Henry were having fun, and it seemed, they were belting out a somewhat similar song to that of Serbian musician, though in their pronunciation the language was simply unrecognizable.

Helen spoke first, "I think I should thank you."

Nikola looked at her and cocked an eyebrow, "For what?"

"If it wasn't for your plan to send my team away, we'd never have had this lovely evening." She put her other hand on his arm and squeezed it gently.

"Well, maybe if we'd stayed in the Sanctuary, the evening would have been even better!" he said with sly look.

"Nikola, be serious…"

"Never," he said, interrupting her with a smirk.

She shook her head and said softly, "You are incorrigible!"

He chuckled. "That's why you love me!" he whispered, leaning towards her.

"Dream on!" Helen retorted with a laugh.

"About you? Always!" The way he said that made her heart jump, and a pleasant, joyful feeling spread in her chest. She just couldn't help but smile at him. He was simply impossible...

She was rarely given a chance to enjoy such an ordinary thing as an evening in a good company. Helen winced at the recollection of this damned delicate game she was playing not just with ministers and heads of organizations, but the entire world. The necessity of keeping in mind what she said and to whom, to estimate her actions and their consequences was exhausting. But at that moment she was able to let herself to think about nothing, relishing her walk by Nikola's side. She was glad that it was his cunning plan which had brought them here, that, thanks to today's adventure, she saw a new side to him, and rediscovered the old ones.

She clenched and unclenched her hand, her fingers almost frozen in place.

"You're cold," Nikola said simply, removing his jacket and slipping it over her shoulders. She went to disagree with him but the gesture was so sweet that she wrapped it tightly around herself and inhaled his scent.

"Good heavens! How wonderful he smells…" she thought. It seemed that despite all this time, his scent had not changed. He rubbed her arms over his jacket

"Better?" he asked.

But Helen was so absorbed in her thoughts that she didn't hear his question. She was enjoying his hands, the intoxicating smell, just him being beside her. All she could think of was what Kate had said to her, and, for the first time, the temptation to do something without thinking of the consequences was almost unbearable. What would happen if she went for it? All she'd need to do was take one small step, and, unconsciously, she did so. He stiffened immediately due to the suddenness of her motion but it lasted a split second and he gently threw his arms round her waist. Nikola remained still, holding her tenderly, not wishing to frighten her away. She buried her face against his chest, feeling his hands stroking her back. Why was it always warmer and cozier with him? Neither of them wanted to destroy the peaceful silence.

Ahead there was Kate's joyful cry, "I've found it! There's a pizza place still open!"

Helen took a deep breath and released herself from Nikola's embrace, and he instantly let her go. The moment of weakness was over and she came back down to Earth. It took her an instant to put on her polite, unfathomable mask before she averted her eyes from him and smiled at the cheerful face of the young woman who was bouncing in her place. The group entered a small Italian pizzeria. There weren't visitors, the half-empty room plunged into a soft light. It didn't take them too long to settle down at a table and place an order, "And lots of cheese..." Kate yelled after the waiter.

"Have you got any wine?" the vampire asked the owner, an affable Italian who had wandered over for a friendly chat.

"Vino bianco, only, but it's simply divine!" the man replied before hurrying off and returning with a bottle of white wine. Nikola sniffed the wine, took a small sip, and kept it on his tongue for a while before finally swallowing it. Everybody was watching him attentively, but Kate couldn't contain herself anymore and scoffed derisively, "Beer would be better!"

The Serb practically winced at the disgust, "I'm surprised that you didn't offer me an apple cider." Then he nodded to the owner with perceptible smile, "Really, it's a good one for white!"

The owner smiled at the compliment and turned to Helen, "Your husband has an eye for wine."

Nikola took a quick curious look at her, waiting for her reaction.

"Yes, he has," she agreed as she felt his hand come to rest on the back of her chair. But Helen continued, perfectly calm. "It's a pity that wine doesn't linger in our house!"

Kate burst out laughing, Henry gasped, and Will hid his smile in a paper napkin, pressed to his mouth. The Serb pursed his lips indignantly, giving them all a dirty look.

Before Helen had time to make caustic remark about his attitude, the cell phone in a pocket of Nikola's jacket rang, and she pulled it out. She glanced at the screen and frowned. 'Unknown ID' never meant anything good. She sighed softly but Nikola picked up on it though before he could say anything, she'd ducked out of the pizzeria to answer the phone.

In the mean time, their pizza arrived, disappearing in a matter of minutes. Kate fell back in her chair, rubbing her stomach in happiness, and said lazily, "Well, now we can go back to the hotel!"

"Mmmmm..." Henry tried to get her attention, brandishing his piece of pizza.

"Wolf Boy, chew it and then speak," Nikola interrupt him, taking another sip of wine. "Manners come first!"

Henry looked hurt, but didn't venture to continue with the conversation, instead turning back to Kate. "What if we drop at a local night club?"

Her eyes lit up at once. "Great idea, Hank; I've heard 'Kn House' is the best of its kind!" The young woman slapped Henry on the shoulder. "Will? Are you with us?"

"No, I'll pass!" was the answer of Helen's protégé, "I feel sleepy, and I just want to get back to the hotel," he said with a yawn.

"Lazy…" Kate muttered.

"And where do you get so much energy?" Nikola mused aloud, asking anybody but the glass of wine, taking the attention from Will.

"Well, great-great-granddad, you're already old and ill, dreaming about a soft couch and strong tea, while the rest of us are full of vim and vigor and if we have enough time we'll take a quick ride to more than one club!" Kate retorted cheerfully with a smile for Henry.

Nikola just twisted his mouth in response.

"Where are you going?" Helen asked as she approached, catching the end of the conversation.

"Night club!" Henry said proudly.

"After that dance marathon you still want to dance?" Helen didn't believe her ears.

Nikola grinned, "I asked the same question! Ok, Booty, I'll bet $ 100 to that you two won't stand even half an hour!" he suggested.

"Deal, show me the money, Dracula!" Kate and Henry winked at each other. "Do we need to bind the deal with spit?" the young woman joked.

The absolute disgust showed up on his face. "Let's pretend that I didn't hear that." He turned to Helen. "By the way, what did they want?" She looked at him with a silent question in her eyes, but Nikola just bent his head on a side waiting for her answer. She sighed, "I'm afraid it's a pressing issue and I'll have to leave now. Apparently it's rather urgent."

"That's why I don't work with the government anymore," Nikola muttered.

Helen shot him a glance, but said nothing and went on, "This means you're in charge of getting our cargo home, Will."

"I got it, Magnus."

Everyone wished her a good trip as she left but Helen made sure to avoid Nikola's attentive look, just nodding quickly before she left the restaurant.

Nikola stood still for a few heartbeats, paying no attention to the idle talk of the children before he stood abruptly and followed Helen outside. Only he was too late. All he was able to do was to stand alone on the street and watch as a taxi drove away with her. There wasn't any new of her leaving like that, without a word, and he in one sense got used to. But what was killing him that she hadn't even looked back at him, disappearing again. When all he wanted, all he desperately _needed_ was just for her to look back at him.

* * *

**And...? Do you like it? Or you don't?)))**

**Thanks for reading!)**


	10. Chapter 10

**The ending of the previous chapter was a bit unexpected, wasn't it?)** **And I'm glad that you didn't lynch me for that…))) **

**What I can say, blame Mr. Thornton with his so emotional eyes from 'North and South', the scene of heartbreaking farewell has inspired me. He is simply gorgeous in it. As our Nikola!)**

**Hope this chapter will make you better, enjoy!)**

* * *

**Chapter 10**

Helen sat in the taxi, leaning her head on the window as she stared absentmindedly through it. Outside streets were sweeping past, highlighted with yellow lamps. She sighed wearily and squeezed the bridge of the nose with two fingers. The last thing she wanted tonight was to rush somewhere at full speed. And though it was her work, not just work, it was the work of her many lifetimes. Because of it, she always stayed away from interpersonal relations, hanging on the sidelines. She never complained, it was her choice after all, but sometimes, in moments like this, she wished for the chance to set the rules and spend the evening however _she _wished. She would have been much happy to stay in that cozy little cafe, listening Kate and Nikola throw witty barbs at one another. A small smile touched her lips but vanished almost instantly, broken by the reality – she was sitting in a cold taxi, on the move again, and suddenly realized that she still wore Nikola's jacket.

She smiled, enjoying the feeling of being close to him as she drew it closer around her shoulders, stroking the collar with her fingertips. The fine, expensive wool blend beneath her fingers was so lovely and soft that, against her will, she proceeded to brush the fabric against her cheek. She couldn't keep from smiling; it smelt just like Nikola.

The car stopped at the hotel entrance, pulling her out of her thoughts. It took her a quarter of an hour to change and to gather her things. She glanced one last time around the room, grabbing her own leather jacket as she tried not to dwell.

All the formalities at the airport were passed rather quickly and Helen finally took her place on the airplane by the window. She always preferred overnight flights, but not today. She sighed and closed her eyes, at least she could use this flight for a little name to help put the day that had been behind her.

Well, that was until she heard someone else speak.

"Wakey, wakey, sleeping beauty."

She instantly opened her eyes and groaned, "It can't be true! I'm either hallucinating or I've lost it completely."

Nikola grinned and sat down in a nearby seat, "The question is, which do you prefer?"

"Nikola, what are you doing here?" she asked, exhausted physically and emotionally.

"Well, a certain lady stole my favourite jacket and I couldn't simply let her go with that!" he joked.

She frowned, "I left it at the hotel." But then it hit her, "Jacket? Seriously?"

"Fine, I believed you would need help with whatever the problem is," he said and smiled, "so I'm here!"

She arched an eyebrow, "You don't volunteer to help, Nikola. So I repeat my question: what are you doing here?"

"Helen, I'm hurt, how can you think so low of me?" he replied indignantly and, to look more hurt for effect, he turned away from her with his arms folded across his chest. "And by the way, I didn't hear 'thank you'," he added over his shoulder.

Helen sighed, trying to pretend that she didn't like the slightly twisted situation she now found herself in. Not that she'd let herself admit that she couldn't bare the thought of a few hours separated from him lest she miss Nikola unbearably.

The pilot called for take off and Helen dismissed the thought, turning back to Nikola. "And where are the others?"

"Oh, it was all very amusing when you left me with the kindergarteners," Nikola started. "Dr. Expendable decided to play boss, forcing Booty and the Wolf to go back to the hotel and go to sleep. Only they disagreed and ran away from him."

Helen was listening to him with wide eyes, "What?" she cried.

"I left the spectacle when your responsible protégé was methodically investigating every nightclub in Baku. I'm afraid if he continues like this, he'll actually find them but, to be honest, I don't think tomorrow any of them will be up for much."

She had no idea what to say and simply asked him in a tired voice, "Why didn't you help him?"

"Well, I wasn't asked to baby-sit." Nikola countered with a completely straight face, only his eyes were twinkling merrily.

She turned to him with the open mouth and suddenly realized that he had obviously fooled her, "You did think up that entire unbelievable story, didn't you?"

Nikola laughed, "Who knows?"

"Arghhh! It wasn't funny!" she grumbled at him.

"It was funny for me," he said, shrugging. "You looked like you were so mad you could have jumped from the plane."

Helen pulled a face in response.

"It was my revenge for the way you've been treating me all night. Especially all that torture in front of the children," he added.

"Well, you were asking for it. So don't complain," Helen retorted with a conceited grin.

"And you say I'm unbearable?" He was astounded.

"You most certainly are," she said with a chuckle, enjoying their teasing, friendly chat. The airplane shuddered in the turbulence and Nikola muttered, "Damned airplanes! I hate them!"

"As much as crowds?" Helen asked with a ghost of a smile.

"It's a tie," he replied with a dark look.

The conversation lapsed and she settled back, turning to the window, where the night sky was impenetrably black and all she could see was a reflection of both her face and Nikola's. She regarded with admiration his sharp features in odd pensiveness and suddenly blurted out, "Nikola, tell me why are you here?" before she considered its effect.

He moved his head closer to her and peered into her eyes with a playful smile. But what he wanted to say was forgotten. Under her always shining eyes lay dark circles and she looked so tired that he didn't want to invent any excuses. But was she ready to hear his truth? He hesitated for a moment, it seemed to Helen that he even swallowed, although she wasn't sure and then he quietly said, "I believed you didn't want to be alone, and that you needed…" He paused and she was almost certain that there was nothing more to add to.

"…me," he finished in an irresolute whisper.

She locked her eyes on his, being both excited and relieved for some reason by the sincerity of his answer, but what was more important was that it was the truth - she really needed him - which she was so afraid to say aloud, concealing it under harsh words. But she did nothing, just nodded and leaned back in her chair, closing her eyes.

Nikola eyed her carefully. The woman, sitting next to him, was the greatest mystery he could only hope to guess at one day: she could as easily shoot him as laugh at him in an answer to his questions, and for the first time he was glad that she didn't say anything. His always strong, stubborn and self-confident Helen didn't tell him to go to hell. It was a good sign! Her breathing became steady, she had to be fallen asleep so he quietly turned off the light so that nothing would disturb her, when suddenly he felt that she took him by the hand and murmured, "Thank you!"

Not sure what to do, he joked, "Twice this evening, ljubav, are you all right?" And she let out a sound, seemed to him a gentle chuckle, kept on staring at their entwined hands and he asked faintly, "For what?"

"For being so nice," she replied with an instant addition, "sometimes!" He smiled, his heart growing heavy with tenderness for this woman and he simply squeezed her fingers in return. Absolute happiness washed over him, removing any of the doubts he had as to whether he had been right to follow her.

"Helen?" he gently called her and heard her sleepy response, "Mmmm?"

He remained silent for a few seconds, "So what were you thinking about then?" he asked.

A slow smile showed up on her face and she opened her eyes, squinted at him, "Are you sure you want to know?"

Nikola hesitated for a moment, but shrugged, "After all, I served you faithfully, my lady, for a whole evening, and so where is my promised reward?"

"Yes, you did! But to be fair, I don't think that I would employ you, I didn't notice that you had been doing your best!" she responded slyly.

He smirked, she always had a sharp tongue and that afforded him an exquisite delight to exchange blistering remarks with her, "Next time I promise I will do all to give you maximum of pleasure, madam!" he replied seductively and turned his head to look at the effect produced by his words, but to his disappointment he saw that she was sleeping, and the answer to his fiery speech was just her mumbling. A smile touched his lips, "Sweet dreams, my love," he thought, and leaned back in his chair, still holding her hand. The airplane shuddered again and he muttered, "Bloody plane!"

Helen was torn out from sleep by sudden shaking and she heard Nikola swearing in a low voice. It caused a feeling of warmth in her chest. It was so astonishing to be comfortable with flying somewhere together again, with relishing his hand squeezed hers. She believed that she could get use to it, or she had already done. This sudden thought made her succumb to an impulse, "You. I was thinking about you," she whispered.

If he hadn't his sensitive ears, he'd never heard her words, which made his heart race. Their eyes met and the Earth stopped moving for both of them. And after several eternal seconds he was only able to force himself to say, "Really?"

She nodded, carried on looking at his magnetic eyes and he could see such a gamut of emotions in hers but there was also something new, breaking through the usual guise of indifference – a fascination. With him. And it was all he could do to kiss her.

He was caressing her lips with his, catching and savouring her gasps for breath. He put his hand on the back of her neck, tangling his fingers in her dark hair and the sensation of his endearment made her shudder and gasp and seize him tightly by the lapel of his jacket. He took advantage of her parted lips to squeeze softly her bottom lip and sucked it. Gently… Slowly… Sensually… He ran his tongue over the silk skin of her lips, and almost lost the control when she repeated his action. The sweetness of this kiss didn't have anything in common with their previous hungry one. _This kiss_ was the admiration of Nikola for the only woman in his life. They finally struggled to break away from each other when the air became vital but remained joined with foreheads, and through the noise of blood pressure in his ears, he heard her hoarse voice, "You asked would I shoot you if you kissed me?"

The way she said that sent shivers down his spine and he grinned, knowing he was the reason behind it, "Well, perhaps, this time, I have an advantage – you can't shoot your gun on a plane," he said with a chuckle.

"You may be right!" Helen agreed, making herself comfortable in the seat and closed her eyes. They both fell into a wonderful comforting tranquillity, each replaying in their minds the splendid moments of their evening together, when she carried on keeping her eyes shut suddenly added to his amazement, "Although, I still wouldn't have shot you, Nikola."

He gasped for air and looked at her perfectly drowsy face, on which was such a playful smile that he found himself astounded by the way his heart was saying that he could wait for her for an eternity if she so required. Over the years they had known each other, he had few moments when her rejection was so unbearable that he wanted nothing more than to give up on her and move on, but his love for her had such power over him that any struggle against it was simply useless. Whatever he did he always came back to her. She was his dream, his muse, his friend, his companion, and tonight he got a spark of hope that one day he would be able to call her _his _forever, and that was enough - he would give her all time in the world. He raised her hand to his lips and mouthed into it, "Uvek sam te voleo, ljubav!"

After all, this trip was worth it!

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**Thanks for reading.)**


	11. Chapter 11

**Hello my Dear Readers!) **

**So this is officially the end!) I propose you the last chapter of my story and I really hope that you will like it.) And I want to thank all of you for being with me, for your nice reviews, following and favouriting, for your patience, it means the world to me.)**

**Chartreuseian,**** you know that I adore you, and I can't express how much I appreciate all you've done for me.) Thank you very very very much for your precious friendship and for the opportunity to try myself as a Teslen writer!) XO**

**So… Enjoy!)**

* * *

**Chapter 11**

_**A week later**_

Helen was working in the library all morning. There was no serious case this time, requiring the fasted possible solution, but she hated to leave even insignificant business unfinished. So now she was standing in front of the huge shelf of books, leafing through the book in her hand. In spite of all her attempts to concentrate her mind on it, her thoughts were drifting away from here. She got a mental picture of a beautiful Azerbaijan city and huffed in frustration.

She hadn't seen _him_ since their return in the Sanctuary. And it had already been three damned days. Though, back in London she had no time even to exchange a few words with Nikola, moving from one meeting to another, barely having time for sleep. But he was beside her, diverting her with easy talk during the short breakfasts, and made for a pleasant companion her on the way home… And she was really grateful to him for that. But they did never bring up what had happened before at that night in Baku, and now she couldn't help but feel silly irritation due to his absence.

Suddenly she heard as the door leading to the library slammed, and turning round, she saw Nikola himself, who burst into her little world. She managed just to gasp as he grabbed her by her hand and with his vampire speed flashed both of them in a recess between stacks. And Helen found herself being driven into a corner, pressed with his body. She instinctively lifted her hands to create a space between them, but the position didn't leave too much room for her movement. She could feel the beat of Nikola's heart against her chest, his ghostly breath on her face, and this unavoidable proximity thrilled her to the core in a way she didn't want to dwell on. She used the only thing she was able to make him farther from her – the book she was still keeping in her right hand, and she immediately slipped it between their chests.

As she got the delusional sense of comfort, she started, "What…?" But she managed to say just a word when he put his index finger to her lips, appealing her to keep silence.

She gasped at his invasion into her fragile privacy as it was but quickly recovered and asked in a whisper, "What happened?"

And as the reply to her question, Will jumped in the library, yelling, "TESLAAAA!" Helen widened her eyes in shock. To say that she was astonished meant to say nothing. Her always reserved protégé was absolutely out of control. Meanwhile Will stopped in front of the desk and looked under it, then around, but there was nobody in the room. He stood still a little and rushed to the recess opposite from where Helen and Nikola were.

Neither Nikola nor Helen did budge. He didn't even remove his finger from her lips and unconsciously started to trace their contours, taking advantage of her exhilarating closeness. The silent question in her blue eyes was so expressive and the vampire replied in low voice at last, "William's suitcase has been delivered!"

Helen lost in her perception of his delicate touch on her lips that instinctively parted them to give him better access. He was delighting in her unsteady breath, making his finger warmer. The air in the narrow space of their hidden location became heavy and hot at once. The century-long experience of keeping poker face covered her heighten senses from his intense gaze and she replied nonchalantly, "He should be happy about this fact!"

Nikola's eyes sparkled slyly, "I don't think so!"

Oh, she could always recognize that expression of his mischievousness in his eyes, probably blindfolded too. "What have you done?" she asked.

The vampire smiled sweetly, "You mean, besides sending his luggage in a world tour with a long stop in Kazakhstan?" But caught her demanded look, he continued, "Do you remember the slime we were covered in?"

"Ugh!" Helen's face puckered slightly with the aversion as she recalled the nauseating smell, "Of course I do, and so?"

Nikola looked down and again back at her innocently and replied with the smile which was becoming wider and wider while he was saying, "Well, leaving out details, I put my 'nice' smelling jacket in his suitcase."

She simply opened her mouth, and swallowing the chuckle, whispered, "You couldn't have done that!"

"Of course I could, or why else would he be so completely unfriendly now?" he shrugged but his face was airing the obvious exultation.

"But the smell was impossible to dissolve," Helen managed to say, choking with laughter, "I had to get rid of my clothes entirely." She utterly forgot that Will was here and her childish laugh could betray them.

"And that's the most pleasant part, isn't it?" He grinned smugly. Helen really didn't know how to react to Nikola's trick. She tried to affect seriousness in her gaze but imaging Will who was tracing Nikola, she laughed to herself and asked, "So you, fearing for your safety, have come for my protection?"

For the moment he admired her eyes twinkling with joy and that delightful smile before he whispered, "Actually, no." And his gaze filled with breathtaking gentleness, shifting the atmosphere to intimate one, "I was looking for you when you protégé went in for the kill!"

She gave her head a shake as if fighting back his gentle voice, "And why were you looking for me?" She smiled.

"I missed you," he replied softly.

She stumbled. He puzzled her, acting so sincere and candid, without any hint of his usual innuendos. And being honest, she had no idea what to do with this version of Nikola and moreover how to resist him. She cleared her throat, changing the subject, "It seems to me Will has gone away!"

His eyes never left hers, taking in tiny turns of her emotions, "You are right. He left… about 7 minutes ago!" He grinned.

Oh, there he was, the Nikola she knew. She arched her eyebrow and shortening the gap between their lips, stopped a breath away from his lips and replied in a seductive whisper, "Then you could let me free before you choke me to death with your stony grip!" Her breath was dancing over his lips and that was too much for him, and he inhaled sharply and automatically gripped the curves of her body just a bit tighter in reaction to her behaviour before set her free. She slipped out their hidden place with a playful smile and went back to the desk, swaying her hips in a way that left Nikola barely able to restrain himself from pinning her to the wall and making her pay for her trick with hot, open-mouthed kisses. He followed her with his eyes and chuckled, what an exquisite woman!

"Do you have any plans for the next evening?" he asked all of a sudden.

She turned to him, and gulped, he was standing right in front of her, "A date?" The word escaped her so fast that she wanted to kick herself for that. "Whatever, I have… I have a meeting, I believe." It was an ungraceful attempt to draw his attention away from her slip but, of course, it didn't work. He was giving her his best, sexiest grin and she wanted to slap herself for her foolish slip.

"You said it, not me," he replied, not giving up. "But that's not an appropriate answer. Yes or no, Helen?"

Her lips twitched into a small smile and yielding to the charm of his light mood, she jested, "This kind of proposition is usually accompanied with gifts!"

Nikola smirked approvingly, "H'm, you're right. Then follow me, Miss Magnus."

"Doctor," she corrected him but asked suspiciously, "Where?"

"Oh, Helen, who would have known that you're so curious!" He rolled his eyes with a feigned sigh, but grabbed her hand and he led her out of the library along corridor to the farthest part of the Sanctuary. The closer they were to Nikola's mysterious place the more perplexed Helen looked.

"Nikola, where are we going to?" she asked, giving up the idea to find out it by herself.

Nikola laughed, "My dearest _Doctor_ Magnus, do you understand the meaning of the word 'surprise'? Because I'm starting to doubt at such…" She slapped him gently, but couldn't keep from smiling at his enigmatic expression. Finally, they stopped in front of the door of an old lab, which, for the last twenty years had been used as a closet if her memory didn't deceive her.

"And what are we doing here?" She crossed her arms over her chest and shot him a glance of suspicion.

Nikola rolled his eyes, "Show patience, ljubav." And he held out a warm coat to her.

She looked at the coat, then her eyes 4raveled back to his face, "Why should I wear that?" she asked, starting to get irritated.

"Because I don't want you to catch cold." He replied, his tone laced with concern as he held out the coat again. She took it with a huff.

"So what now?" she grumbled.

"And now you close your eyes!"

"Nikola…"

"Helen!"

She eyed him for a few seconds before exclaimed, "Fine!" She took a deep breath before finally shutting her eyes, hearing him muttering about something and entered the room behind him. As she crossed the threshold she instantly gasped at the cold that embraced her, chilling her to her fingertips. She hated to admit it, but now she was really grateful Nikola for insisting on her wearing the coat.

"I'm going to open my eyes now, Nikola," she announced.

He blinded her with his right hand pressed to her eyes. "No, Helen, not yet," he murmured in her ear, and she found herself in his comfortable embrace.

"Nikola, this is ridiculous," she tried to sound derisive, but the gentleness with which she took his hand and removed it from her eyes gave her away. At the very moment she opened her eyes the sun, gushing out through the window, lightened the room and she immediately froze in astonishment.

"Oh, God!" she breathed, looking around without blinking as if it would all disappear any minute. "What is it?" she managed to ask.

Nikola smiled lovingly, relishing her speechlessness, "It's for you!" he said simply.

She couldn't stop looking about the room, scarcely believing her eyes. The room wasn't the same she remembered, there were no old furniture and the walls were painted a soft light blue, expanding the space and letting the air and the light freely move through it. It was no longer a storage closet but a wonderful, almost exotic garden made of flowers and fanciful patterns along the roof and walls, leading to the floor in remarkable columns that made graceful archways.

All made of ice.

Helen walked carefully about the room, endeavoring to not ruin any of the diminutive and magnificent pieces, and Nikola watched her movements, his heart rate rising every time her eyes lit up with bewilderment and excitement.

"I thought that ordinary flowers weren't for such an extraordinary woman as you are," he noted softly.

She shot him a rapturous glance, "They are gorgeous. Thank you," she whispered, being afraid that a louder voice would ruin this miracle, "But how did you do that?"

He gave a chuckle and winked at her, "Genius, remember?" Helen couldn't help but roll her eyes at his show off, but he added with a hint of seriousness, "It was Sally who helped me with the water. I needed something impressive to win you over."

"Amazing!" She spoke in a low voice, looking around the room again and again, admiring the piece of art, made especially for her. It was an incredible, unbelievable gift, which simply took her breath away. She faced Nikola, his eyes glittering with nothing but despair pushed her to make up her mind. Now or never! She ran up to him and cupped his face, pressing her lips to his in a sweet kiss. It was a heartbeat before he circled his arms around her body and responded to her. "How could I say 'no'?" she asked endearingly, moving away slightly.

"Then say 'yes'!" he smiled.

She stroked his cheek, "You do understand that this is going to be incredibly difficult, don't you?"

Nikola rested his forehead against hers, a wide grin was playing on his face, and replied, "I don't think I care. We'll manage. Somehow."

His voice was ringing with a genuine sense of love that was the best kind of answer Helen could receive. Her face lit up with a smile so beautiful that he couldn't stop himself from bending forward to steal another kiss. A knock on the door interrupted his intentions though, and Nikola growled, "Bloody hell, is there any place on the Earth where your protégé will not find us?"

Helen sighed disappointingly, "It could be anyone."

And as if to prove his words, there was Will's voice from the other side of the door, "Magnus, are you in there? I need to talk to you."

Nikola gave her 'I told you' look, before started moving towards the door, muttering, "I think the time to send Dr Expendable to Kazakhstan has come!"

She laughed, catching his hand, "For the first time, I agree with you! But let me…" And giving him a peck on the cheek, she headed for the door, but before she opened it, she threw over her shoulder, "What if we miss the first date and start from the second one?"

Nikola frowned looking perplexed, "What's wrong with a first date, ljubav?"

"Nothing, but old-fashioned girls don't kiss at the first date!" she replied with a wink and went out of the room, leaving Nikola in the middle of glacial garden completely speechless. He heard her moving away, high heels clattering before the irritating voice of William floated through the door, and the memory of the silkiness of her lips made his heart stop for a second. And they said that vampires could feel nothing. Oh, how wrong they were… He put forth a tremendous effort to suppress the urge to run after her, grab in an iron embrace and never let go by distracting himself with details of their forthcoming date. He stepped forward and stopped. He _could_ be patient, he waited for her decades… He was Nikola Tesla after all and his will power was adamantine. Or not? If there was a weakness in him, it was definitely named Helen Magnus. So could he? He flashed out of the room and the sound of the slamming door was the best answer. Of course he couldn't…

**The End**


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